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July 23, 2012

Is Colorado shooter Jim Holmes just a gunman, not a terrorist!

Gunman or Terrorist!

Should James Holmes, the perpetrator of the massacre at a theater in Colorado, be termed an insane youth or a gunman despite the wanton killings, and not a terrorist?

The killings were immediately dubbed as 'not linked to terrorism'. Is it because he doesn't fit in the media created image that gunman of a particular religion alone is mostly deemed as a terrorist? Those professing other religions are simply 'gunmen'!

Ironically, the incident at the Aurora theatre took place just when the anniversary of the horrific massacre by a Christian fundamentalist, Anders Breivik, in Norway is round the corner. As many as 77 persons were killed in the firing.

Social networking sites are abuzz as people are forwarding a photograph with messages like, 'Jimmy Holmes was not a terrorist because he was not a Muslim'. The perception may not be exactly true as the motive of a killer is also to be ascertained.

In Middle East & Asian countries, that have huge Muslim populations, Facebook posts and tweets on the flawed connection of religious background and terror are being circulated. In this case, he was surely not driven by a religious ideology.

James 'Joker' Holmes, 24, had dropped out of his PhD on neuroscience. In the assault during the screening of Batman movie, he killed 12 people and wounded 58 others. But he did commit a horrendous crime. The English dictionary's word for a terrorist would perfectly suit him.

Then, shall the suspect be simply called a 'deranged shooter', 'massacre man' or a mere 'shooting suspect'? The debate that has cultural, political and ideological issues at the root will probably continue just like the debate on gun control in United States of America.